Wandering Past the Present Future
by Zedaar
Summary: After Jusendo ends disastrously, a husband and wife are wandering through Feudal Japan.
1. Chapter 1

Wandering Past the Present Future

Disclaimer: All characters owned by Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: It's a bit rough, as its been a while since I did any serious writing, but I hope you enjoy it. The story is complete, I'll post a chapter a day till it's done.

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><p>When the Dragon and Phoenix taps were created, eons ago, the people of Jusendo were warned to never let the magical waters mix. For should Hot and Cold magic combine, the results would be unpredictable, and it could spell disaster for them all...<p>

Ranma sat on the hard stone, heedless of the waters churning and hissing in the pool around him. All that mattered was the girl in his arms, the girl he'd just torn a Kami apart to save, the girl he was too late to save. He was barely even aware of what he was saying, "All this just 'cause you wanted to save me... It would have been better if it were me. You should have let me die. But you're always butting in..."

Ranma held her closer and struggled to keep control. "Why did you have to get involved? Damn, Akane. You fool. Why didn't you let me go?" He paused for a moment for the rejoinder that wouldn't come, then his fist rose up and punched him in the face, almost of its own volition.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant... What I'm trying to say is... thank you."Ranma looked at her face again, seeing nothing else. "I'm so sorry Akane. I'm so awkward with words. There were so many things I always wanted to tell you, but i could never get the words out. Over and over again... I kept trying to tell you how I really felt, but it always came out wrong. I just ended up bothering you and making you angry. But that was never what I meant to do."

Ranma began to plead with her still form, "Wake up, Akane. There's something I need to tell you. I've waited too long to say it, but it can't wait another moment. Akane? Can't you hear me? Please Akane. I need you... to hear me now... I wanted to tell you..." Ranma watched in shock as a tear fell from his cheek to hers, a tear from the boy who'd been taught never to cry.

"I wanted to tell you that I love you!"  
>"Akaneee!"<br>Which one Ranma screamed and which merely echoed in the vaults of his mind Ranma never remembered, but it didn't matter, because the girl he loved heard them both. And so did the waters of Jusendo. And as the two teens embraced and rejoiced in the fact that they were both alive and together again, the magic in the waters of Jusendo exploded. Later, some of the surviving members of the Nerima Wrecking Crew swore that for an instant, Ranma and Akane were surrounded by a sphere of stars and darkness.

And then they were gone.

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><p>5 years later, 500 years ago...<p>

Miroku and Inuyasha approached the village with both speed and caution, hearing the sounds of battle ahead. Since Neraku had vanished nearly a month earlier there had been a large increase in demonic activity all over the country, providing them with convenient problem of having to remove infestations in many of the villages they stayed in while searching for their enemy. The other members of their group had delayed at the previous village, sending the two men away for crimes of disputed severity. Really, was sly grope and a smart ass remark really worth all this? Shippo at least had had the sense to stay out of it.

As they reached the village common the monk and half-demon expected to see a demon making short work of the village menfolk, who would likely be armed with farming tools and other simple bladed tools. The demon was there certainly, a fifteen foot tall red skinned monstrosity, humanoid for the most part, but bearing 3 horns and a single eye. The men of the village, however, were standing with their wives and children on the sidelines, watching the show. The demon was attempting to pulverise a single unarmed young man, with little success as the fighter managed somehow to dodge virtually every attack.

"He'll get slaughtered," Miroku exclaimed, "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha nodded and reached for his Tessaiga, only to find a woman's hand holding down the hilt. "Don't interfere, please," she asked, "My husband will be most upset if you interrupt his workout."

"Are you crazy?" Inuyasha yelled, "He's gonna get himself killed! He's not even armed!"

The woman looked at him and grinned, "This is not the first demon we've taken on. We know what we're doing. Watch, he's almost reached the centre of the spiral."

Inuyasha and Miroku quickly looked back at the fight and watched as the demon was launched into the air by a tornado that seemed to come out of nowhere. Barely over the sound of the wind they could hear a voice crying out ".. Shoten Ha! Moko Takabisha!" A red ball of light formed at the base of the tornado and launched itself skyward, impacting with the demon's body and tearing it apart.

"Incredible." Miroku murmured, shocked at what he'd seen. That a single human could do that to a demon, without the aid of magics or a Shikon Jewel Shard was almost unbelievable. Inuyasha looked hard at the winds as they subsided. It hadn't been the Wind Scar or even the Backlash Wave, but it had used wind as an attack somehow. And the user was most definitely human, Inuyasha's nose was certain of that. As was the woman who'd gone to join the man she'd called husband.

Outwardly, they seemed to be a normal couple, both around Miroku's age a perhaps a little more. He was a ordinary looking human, black hair tied back with a simple thong that reached the middle of his back. He wore a silk red shirt and black pants tied at the waist with a simple length of white cloth. His face was open and honest, and filled with happiness as he kissed his wife. The young woman, strangely had much shorter hair, cut well above the neck and so black it was almost blue. She wore a simple white peasant blouse and divided black skirt. Strangely, she moved as if she too knew how to fight, and despite the obvious love for her husband, it was equally obvious she wasn't subservient to him in any way.

Inuyasha and Miroku both looked at each other and nodded. It was important that they get to know these new demon slayers, and soon.

Later, in the Headman's house (after a generous offer to exorcise any further demonic energies by Miroku), they were all seated down to an equally generous meal. Initally the new couple had been a bit wary of Inuyasha, but not because he was a half-demon. It was the type of demon that had the man worried, "Are you sure you're not a cat?" he accused.

"Yes I'm sure!" Inuyasha yelled back.

The woman laid her hand on her husbands shoulder, reducing him to mumbling, "hate cats", and smiled at them. "I'm sorry, but he really has a thing about cats. My name is Akane, and this is my husband, Ranma."

Mildly disappointed to be reminded of the beautiful woman's marital status, Miroku introduced himself and Inuyasha, then said, "I have to say, that was an incredible display this morning. My companions and I deal with demons on a regular basis, but never unarmed like that. How did you do it?"

Ranma replied, between bowls, "Heh, 'tweren't nothing. That was one of my easier fights." He grunted as Akane elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ranma has devoted almost his entire life to the martial arts, and is now one of the best ("The best" Ranma interrupted.) in Japan. We've spent the last few years travelling the continent looking for... something, and only returned to Japan two months ago. When these demon attacks started up, we had to help. As my father liked to say, 'It's a martial artists duty to defend the weak and to destroy monsters.'"

"A wise man." Miroku admitted.

Ranma snorted in derision at this and earned himself a glare and another shot to the ribs. "What about yourselves?" Akane asked, "You've said you slain a lot of demons, do you know why they've recently become so active?"

Between them, Inuyasha and Miroku told the tale of Neraku's defeat and the subsequent increase in demons. Mostly Miroku though, as it seemed that Ranma and Inuyasha were competing to see who could eat the most food. Snatching a pickle from Inuyasha's plate, Ranma smirked and said, "So its your fault then. If you'd done the job properly, they demons woulda stayed in hiding."

"Only cause the coward ran away!" Inuyasha yelled, grabbing the last bowl of rice from Ranma's hand. "And it's really all Kagome's fault anyway, if she hadn't shattered the Shikon Jewel in the first place, this never woulda gotten so bad!"

Akane slumped in despair, "The jewel is gone? It was our last hope."

"Last hope?" Miroku asked.

"We've spent the last few years trying to find a way home. This isn't our world you see, we were transported here by magic five years ago. When we reached Japan we heard of a magical jewel that could grant the user a single wish, and we've been trying to reach the village where it was kept ever since. But now..."

The conversation would have continued, but at that moment footsteps could be heard pounding the floor outside. The door to the room slid open with a bang, revealing a young girl standing there behind Inuyasha, a dark scowl on her face. "What was my fault?" she asked dangerously.

Inuyasha leaned his head back and looked up at her, "Oh, hey Kagome. Something wrong?"

Kagome raised her fist, and growled, "You just never learn do you? **Sit!**"

The Beads of Domination around Inuyasha's neck activated, slamming him over backwards to the ground painfully. He moaned his protests but Kagome ignored him, instead noticing the stunned expressions on the two people in the room she didn't know. Miroku introduced them and Kagome said, "Pleased to meet you both. Don't worry about him, I just have to keep him in line sometimes."

For a moment there was no response, then Ranma turned to his wife and asked, "Do you see what I see? Please tell me you do"

Akane didn't take her eyes off Kagome, but replied, "If you're seeing a seifuku, and I hope you are, then yes, I'm seeing the same thing."

Kagome suddenly found her hands being held by the couple as they crowded in front of her, (Ranma incidentally standing on Inuyasha's head) crying out in unison "Please tell us you're from the 20th century!"

With a worried look, Kagome replied, "Ye.. yeah, 1997 to be exact."

Pleading, and on the verge of tears, Akane asked, "And can you get back?" Kagome nodded, and found herself in a double glomp as the the couple cried in relief, "We can go home. We can go home"

When Ranma and Akane had finally let her go, (and gotten off Inuyasha) Kagome was about to ask for their story when Sango, Shippo and Kirara finally entered. Immediately Ranma stiffened and hid behind his wife. "There's a c-c-c-at!"

As Akane tried to reassure her husband that the nasty feline wouldn't go anywhere near him, Inuyasha smirked. "Wow, you really do hate cats."

Akane glared at him. "After what his father did to him, you'd be terrified too." More gently, she turned to the newcomers and asked, "I'm sorry but could you possibly take your cat outside. She's a very lovely animal, but I'm afraid my husband simply can't stand being around them." Of her own accord, Kirara turned and left the room. "And a very smart girl too." Akane complimented, "Thank you."

Sango and Shippo entered the room and, satisfied that Kirara wasn't leaving the hallway, shut the door. Miroku made introductions all round, and the conversation returned to the subject at hand. "What did you mean go home?" Kagome asked.

Ranma took a deep breath, wondering exactly how much to tell them. "We used to live in Nerima, Tokyo, at around the same time you do, Kagome. We were really just teenagers like you, martial artists getting into and outta trouble more times than I care to think about. Five years ago we ended up in the middle of China, fighting a Phoenix Kami called Saffron. It was probably the hardest fight I've ever been in." He reached over and took Akane's hand in his, "And one of the most costly. Akane almost died. During the fight a whole lot of magics were released that never shoulda mixed. I still dunno what exactly happened, but when we came to, it was five hundred years earlier. We spent a few months recovering in a village I knew nearby. We learnt a few things from them about the Art, heh, taught them a few things too."

Ranma shared a smug grin with his wife and continued, "We spent four years scouring the continent for a way back home, but nothing worked. It was all either legend, or frauds... whatever. Eventually we decided to come back to Japan. It's not our Japan, but at least it's the right country. We figured we'd settle down somewhere and try to make a life for ourselves. A couple of weeks after we got here, we heard tales of the Shikon Jewel - the magic stone that could grant its user any single wish. We decided to make one last try."

Akane looked at the demon slayers, tears of happiness in her eyes, "When Inuyasha told us that the Jewel had been destroyed, I thought we'd be stuck here forever, but if you truly know of a way to go back and forth, then we can go home at last."

Kagome bit her lower lip and looked downwards. "Maybe," she said, "I've never actually taken anyone else through with me. Inuyasha can, because he's half-demon, but I don't know if other humans can go." Kagome looked up, determined. "But we'll try! If nothing else I'll take messages to your families and let them know you're alive!"

Once again Kagome found herself being glomped by Akane, sobbing with gratitude.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: still a bit rough, and I'm sure everyone's a little OOC, but have fun anyway! And I seem to have trouble writing for Shippo, so he won't have a very big part in this story.

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><p>They spent the night in the hospitality of the Headman's house, Ranma and Akane in a small guest room, the others sharing the main room as they so often had before. There was space for them to all be in the large room, but Ranma could barely deal with the idea of that Demon (Kirara) in the same building as him, let alone the same room.<p>

Dawn the next morning found Ranma and Akane doing their morning workout in the yard behind the house. Sango was the first to rise, and greatly admired their skill. The others joined her as they performed more and more difficult katas and manoeuvres. After a while, Akane came to a stop and walked back to the house to rest, watching her husband with pride as he showed his mastery over techniques that were still beyond her. Inuyasha scoffed at their amazement, "He's not that good."

Ranma called out mid air, "I'll take that challenge."

"You wouldn't last 2 minutes against me."

"Against everything you could bring to bear? Probably less. But in a fair, open handed fight. I could take on all of you, and win." Ranma stood still for minute and grinned at them. "What have you got to lose? You've got three solid fighters in your group, all three of you, no weapons, no magic. Just skill against skill."

Before the others could object, Inuyasha laughed, "Ha! You're on! Loser gets dunked in the river!"

Akane giggled at that thought as Inuyasha's friends voiced their objections.

Ten minutes and a heated discussion later, Miroku, Sango and Inuyasha formed a pyramid around Ranma as Akane, Kagome and Shippo watched from the side. As it was just a friendly match, the terms were: fight until thrown out of bounds, yield, or knocked out. "I hope they don't hurt him too badly, Akane." Kagome said.

Smiling confidently, Akane replied, "He'll take out the monk with the first strike. Sango will last a bit longer, but only a few minutes. Inuyasha will give him a little trouble because he's a half-demon, but without his claws or weapon, he will lose."

"What? No way" cried Shippo.

But there was no time for further talk as Inuyasha launched the first assault, a brash straightforward strike with his fist. But he found that his target was no longer there, instead Ranma had dodged to the side, putting Inuyasha between himself and Sango, who was also dashing forward. A push with his leg off Inuyasha's shoulder redirected the half-demon's momentum and he and Sango went down in a tangle of limbs. Miroku, who had decided to analyse his opponent's movement before joining the melee found his opponent suddenly mid air in front of him spinning in a vicious side kick. The monk slammed into the wall and slumped down, deciding it would be best to remain there for now.

Ranma turned back as Sango and Inuyasha separated, this time approaching him more warily. The three traded blows for a few minutes, until Sango made a mistake. She overextended on a right cross just slightly, but it was enough for Ranma to pull her out of position, and into the path of Inuyasha's fist. She, too, decided it would be best to sit the rest of the match out, or at least until the world went the right way up again.

"Inuyasha! Watch what you're doing!" Kagome called out.

The two fighters separated, both breathing deeply, each seeking to find a flaw in the other's ability. Ranma smirked, then started to chuckle. "What?" Inuyasha demanded. "Nothing, really. I just haven't had a fight that was this much fun since the last time I fought Ryoga. Time to step things up and take you seriously."

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched. This human had been toying with him?

"Watch close now," Ranma announced and stepped forward to attack, "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma's fists blurred into action, faster than Inuyasha could see, but he certainly felt the blows as they landed on his face and torso. He backed up but his opponent followed until Inuyasha's back was against the garden wall. Inuyasha ducked off to the side as Ranma's strikes began to pulverise the stone. Ranma stood there for a moment, then counted out loud, "5..4..3..2..1" Inuyasha felt his limbs go numb and he fell to the ground.

Ranma stepped over him and asked, "Do you yield?"

"Never!"

Ranma laughed, "Good for you!" Then he picked Inuyasha up and carried him over to Kagome. "I believe this belongs to you?"

Kagome looked at him in astonishment, then began to laugh.

"You cheated!" Inuyasha cried out, "You said no magic!"

Ranma shook his head, "It wasn't magic, I just tapped a few of your pressure points during my attack. Your arms and legs should wake up soon. Now what's for breakfast?"

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><p>During breakfast, as the combatants nursed their wounds, it was decided that Akane and Ranma would join them as they journeyed back to Kaede's village and the Bone Eater's Well. Despite Inuyasha's complaints that they should be chasing after Neraku and didn't have time to nursemaid tourists, the others agreed that they had been on the road for a while and were running low on supplies.<p>

Ranma would stay well back and keep that damn demon (cat) in view at all times.

They made their farewells and left soon after breakfast. Inuyasha lead the way, playing the sore loser, and Ranma, Shippo and Miroku brought up the rear, discussing their adventures, the women, martial arts, the women...

This left Kagome, Sango with little Kirara on her shoulder, and Akane in the middle and by midday they were chatting like old friends. "So? Tell me," Kagome asked Akane, "How long have you two been married? Was it love at first sight?"

Akane burst out laughing, "Hardly. The first day I met Ranma I called him a pervert and hit him over the head with table."

Sango, having some experience with a certain pervert, asked, "Why? What'd he do?"

"Saw me naked in the bathroom."

"He's a peeping tom?" Kagome asked

Akane blushed a little and said, "Actually, the first time I walked in on him."

Kagome just giggled while Sango raised an eyebrow, "First time?"

"Well, I might have forgotten to put the 'occupied' sign up and he walked in on me" Akane's blush deepened, as both girls began laughing. Akane got the distinct feeling that even Kirara was laughing at her. "There were extenuating circumstances!"

"Like what?" Kagome asked.

Akane turned away. "You'll find out soon enough," she told them, "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." She begged off their questions and asked one of her own, "What about you two, any men in your lives?" Watching them both closely, Akane saw Sango start to look backwards, then down, while Kagome looked up and forward to Inuyasha. Akane smiled comfortingly at them both, and with the wisdom that only married women possess, said "I see."

Instantly both girls glared at her and cried out "It's not like that!" Akane grinned back at them, enjoying the growing blushes.

From up front Inuyasha yelled back, "Do you girls wanna cut it out? I'm trying to get some peace and quiet up here!"

Akane frowned and asked Kagome, "Is he always this much of a jerk? I mean, I know Ranma can be sometimes, but I haven't heard a pleasant word from him all day!"

Kagome replied, "Not usually, but..." and counted up the days in her head. "Excuse me a minute, I think I know what's wrong."

Trotting up to Inuyasha, she drew even and spoke to him quietly. "Hi"

"Hmm."

"It's the new moon tonight, isn't it?"

"What of it?" he snapped.

"I think we should tell Akane and Ranma. I mean they're gonna find out anyway, so may as well prepare them for it." Kagome was trying for reasonable. Unfortunately, Inuyasha had no interest in being reasonable.

"You just wanna tell everyone don't you? Just blab to the whole world how weak I'm gonna be."

"Inuyasha! They're good fighters! If there's trouble they might be able to help us. But not if they're expecting you to be Mr Powerful! And lets face it - as much as we try and avoid it, there's almost always trouble for us on a new moon!"

Inuyasha growled a bit and refused to look at her. Here he was trying to be all cranky and she just had to go and make a logical sensible argument. "Fine." he barked. "But if they tell anyone or hurt you tonight I'm gonna blame you!"

And with that pronouncement, not realising exactly what he'd said, Inuyasha stalked off ahead again, leaving Kagome happy on the road. '_He's worried about me?_'

As the other girls caught up, Kagome boxed that little feeling up and stacked it in her heart with all the others. The ones that helped to shield her heart whenever Inuyasha was obsessing over Kikyo.

"Well?" Akane asked, "Did you figure out what's bothering him?"

Kagome took a deep breath. "Not everyone knows this, but half-demons like Inuyasha regularly go through a period of weakness. The demon blood subsides and for a little while they become fully human. For Inuyasha, that's the New Moon. Tonight. It makes him a bit cranky, because he can't stand being weak."

Sango added, "He really is very sensitive about it. He doesn't want anyone to know." She took the opportunity to tease her friend a little, "He hates not being able to protect Kagome. Sometimes I think she gets in trouble on those nights just to annoy him."

"Sango!"

Akane was finding it hard to keep a straight face. "So what you're telling me, is that for Inuyasha, its that time of the month?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow, never thought I'd see a second male who knows what its like..." and burst out laughing.

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><p>The stragglers in this little troupe were starting to have some trouble with their own conversation. Every time they started to get a good flow going, they were interrupted by laughter from the three girls. "What do you suppose they're talking about up there?" Miroku wondered out loud.<p>

"In my experience," Ranma replied, "Whenever girls are talking and laughing like that, its either about men, something girly, something naughty, or some combination of all three." Ranma neglected to mention that occasionally he'd been one of the girls.

They watched as Kagome left the group to speak with the half-demon at the front, then drop back again. A few moments later Ranma sneezed as Akane began laughing. "See what I mean?"

A little later Akane dropped back to speak with them. "Having fun dear?" Ranma asked.

"The best, Ranma. They're really lovely girls. We're already becoming great friends."

"So I gathered." Ranma replied dryly, "Was there something specifically you wanted, dear, or did you just miss me?"

Somehow Akane managed to both thump his arm and kiss his cheek at the same time. "Of course I missed you. But Kagome has a favor to ask."

"Oh?"

"Inuyasha won't really be himself tonight, Miroku here can tell you the details. But would you mind not teasing him too much about it? And we'll be depending on you a lot if there's any trouble."

"Tonight?" Miroku asked, puzzled at first.

"It's a New Moon, dummy." Shippo reminded him.

"Ah. Of course. I'd forgotten."

"Well, that clears that up," snarked Ranma.

Akane elbowed him affectionately, asking "There's one other thing. Would you mind showing Inuyasha... and the others of course, your little problem? It might help take his mind off it."

Ranma grimaced in distaste. Even after all these years, he didn't feel especially comfortable in his other form. "Do I haveta?"

"You know they're gonna find out anyway. Might as well get it over with."

Sighing, Ranma replied, "Fine. You win."

Laughing, Akane kissed her husband again, "I do love it when I win." and went back to join the girls.

"Do you always let her win?" Shippo asked.

Ranma grinned. "Of course not. The secret to a great marriage kid, is to let the women win the little victories. That way, when the big battles come up they feel like they owe ya." He smirked at the monk, "Something to keep in mind if you ever land that demon-slayer of yours, eh Miroku?"

"I'm quite sure I have no idea of what you're talking about."

"Sure ya don't," Ranma snickered, "Now what's this about a New Moon?"

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><p>Toward evening, Sango took flight on Kirara to scout for a suitable camp site. The sight of the tiny twintail suddenly flaming up into a saber-toothed demon cat the size of a small horse just about sent Ranma into a panic. Which sent Inuyasha into gales of laughter. Then Ranma remembered that a dunking was owed, and as a river was handily nearby, made good use of it. The drenched half-demon came charging out of the water at the smug martial artist, claws extended.<p>

"Inuyasha!"

Mid stride, he froze and moaned, "Aw, no..."

"**Sit!**"

From his new position in the topsoil, Inuyasha grumbled about the unfairness of life. He looked up to see Ranma standing over him, a hand extended. "Truce?" Inuyasha glared at him and growled a little, but reached up and accepted the help to his feet. "Fine."

Ranma slapped his new friend in on the shoulder and laughed, "Could be worse. You could have my curse!"

"What curse?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Later, once camp had been set up and before the sun had set, Ranma and Akane sat before the group (Kirara safely out of sight, but still watching from a nearby tree) and began to explain Ranma's curse.

Akane began it. "You all fight demons, or even are demons, so we don't need to prove to you that magic exists. So that makes things easier. In western China, in the Bayankala Mountain Range, lies the valley containing the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo. There are over one hundred pools in that valley, each with a different curse. At some point, each spring has had some creature drown in it. After that, any creature that falls into one of those springs, is cursed to take that form went splashed with cold water. Hot water returns you to your normal form."

"Every spring has a different curse?" Miroku asked

"Sure," Ranma shrugged, "So far I've seen people changed by the Springs of Drowned Panda, Girl, Cat, Duck, Pig..."

"Pig?" Akane interrupted, "Who got cursed into a pig?"

Ranma winced, "Ah... he wants to tell you himself. When we get back. Ha ha ha. Ah, where was I? Drowned Yeti riding an Ox holding an Eel and Crane..."

"You mean he turns into four creatures?"

"Naw, just one really ugly one. Plus he went back and fell into the Spring of Drowned Octupus so now he has tentacles too."

"Now I know you're pulling our leg," Inuyasha scoffed, "I mean how can you drown an octupus?"

"How the hell should I know? Oh yea, and my personal favourite: Spring of Drowned Akane." Ranma was winding up to one of the few jokes he'd managed to get from Jusenkyo. At the time it had caused him grief, but he could see a funny side to it now...

Sango was the first one to ask the question, "You've been cursed too, Akane?"

Ranma quickly answered, snickering, "No, she is the curse! Ow ow!" Akane was elbowing his ribs again, but it was worth it.

Akane finished off the tale, "As for this laughing idiot here, he was foolish enough to fall into..." Akane grabbed a bucket from behind her and poured it over her husband, "The Spring of Drowned Girl"

Instantly, seated where Ranma had been was a young woman, red haired, petite of frame and large of chest. Perhaps what Ranma's sister might have looked like. Equally instantly, born completely from reflex action, Miroku was kneeling before her, her hands in his, and asking "Would you consider bearing my child?" A beat later as Ranma's anger grew, he realised exactly who it was he was talking to, and began turning a little green.

A short time later he found himself upside down against a nearby tree trunk, watching as Kagome and Sango took turns in changing Ranma's form with hot and cold water. "This is fun no matter how many times I see it." Kagome commented.

Inuyasha was rolling on the ground nearby, laughing despite his aching sides, his own change of form completely forgotten. Miroku was unsure exactly who the half-demon was laughing at most.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All characters owned by Rumiko Takahashi

A/N: final chapter. I thought about splitting it, but that would have made it too short. Small warning: lots of tears at the end, the story just didn't want to write itself any other way. Have fun all!

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><p>Despite not being born until the mid 20th century, Murphy's Law still played a role in Feudal Japan, and sure enough, in the small hours of the morning, a demon made its presence known. Kirara was the first to notice its presence, and woke her long-time companion who roused the others. A giant rat, 40 feet tall crashed into the clearing. Ranma and Akane stayed back, recognising it as being beyond their capabilities, and tried to keep Inuyasha out of the fight. The demon shrugged off Sango's Hiraikotsu and was able to withstand the force of the Windtunnel, bracing itself against the ground. The single sacred arrow Kagome had shot so far had been deflected by the bracers on the creature's arms. Only Kirara seemed to be having any success, but was only causing minimal damage.<p>

"Fools!" the demon bellowed, "I am the Lord of all Rats! It has long been told that only one bearing the true spirit of a cat can harm me, and your little kitty just isn't up to scratch!"

"Ranma!" Akane hissed, as the demon ranted some more.

"I know, there's no choice. I hate this. I really hate this." He closed his eyes and whispered to his wife, "Help me.

Akane called to Sango "Quickly, bring Kirara down here."

Sango and Kirara flew close. "But I thought Ranma..."

"He does, but only up to a point." Akane brought Ranma face to face with Kirara and stood behind him, holding him close. Then she made him open his eyes and they watched as Ranma grew more and more terrified, until...

"Yoowwwl!" Kirara jumped back at that sound, letting Akane spin around in front of her husband, getting his attention. "Good kitty..." Ranma began to purr. Akane pointed to the now very disturbed demon. "Kill!"

Ranma yowled again, and the demon flinched back, "No, its not possible. He promised me you'd never exist again. He promised!"

Ranma dashed across the clearing and up the demon's leg, leaving great bloody gashes in his wake.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha demanded.

Watching her husband, both sad and proud at the same time, Akane told them of his Neko-ken training as a boy, and the legacy it left on his mind and body. They all agreed it was one of the most horrible things they'd ever heard of. Even most demons treated their offspring with more care.

It wasn't long before the demon fled before the onslaught, its hide in tatters. Ranma wanted to give chase, this was a marvellous new toy, but his mistress called him back and he went happily. She took him to their sleeping space near the fire and lay down there with him. It was lovely and warm by the flames and NekoRanma was quite tired out by his play. He fell asleep purring.

Shippo was very nervous around his new friend now, "He...He's not gonna stay like that is he? He's really scary."

Akane smiled and reassured them all, "No, he'll sleep it off and be just fine in the morning. If it were desperate a change of his form would do the same." She kissed the top of his head affectionately. "The very first time I suspected Ranma might love me was in his cat state. He gave me my very first kiss." She closed her eyes, and they all tried to go back to sleep.

Ranma purred and dreamed of home.

* * *

><p>Ranma woke slowly in his wife's arms, comfortable and content. He still couldn't remember anything past the fear, but as long as he woke up like this afterwards, he could deal with it. He raised himself up on one elbow, watching his sleeping bride, then leant down to kiss her. Akane smiled and murmured, "Good morning."<p>

Nuzzling her neck, Ranma whispered, "It's a pity we're not alone, you know how I feel after a night like that."

Akane smirked and pressed herself against him. "I know how you feel alright." She kissed him and whispered, "Later, I promise."

On the other side of the remains of last night's fire, Kagome watched, her cheeks beginning to heat. _'They love each other so much'_, she thought. Unerringly, her eyes sought out Inuyasha. _'Will I ever know what that's like?'_

Soon the others began to stir as well, and breakfast was well underway, with a still nervous Shippo making sure to keep Inuyasha between himself and Ranma. As the meal finished, Ranma turned to Sango and asked for a favor. "Could... could you thank Kirara for me?"

"You could thank her yourself you know. She's really very gentle and friendly."

"I know that, but just thinking about getting that close again..." Ranma shuddered and shook his head. "Nope. Nuh-uh. No way. Can't do it. I'm sorry. I'll catch her a really big fish later, just for her, ok?"

Smiling, Sango agreed, "Ok. But I'd like some training with you some time, you're really an incredible fighter."

"You got it!"

That day's travel was relatively peaceful, filled with only talk, laughter and friendly bickering. After they set up camp that evening, and while Kirara enjoyed a fish bigger than she was, Sango, and later Miroku, joined Ranma and Akane in their daily workout. Inuyasha was at first sceptical about how much help this training could provide.

"What's your best attack? Without a weapon, I mean?" Ranma asked him.

Inuyasha smirked, and on a nearby tree demonstrated his Sankon Tesso (Iron Reaver Soul Stealer). As the tree collapsed into so much lumber, Ranma nodded. "Very impressive. Very powerful. Kinda slow though, don't you think? Imagine the damage you could do if you were as fast as I was against you yesterday."

The half-demon stalked off grumbling, but the thought wouldn't leave him alone. His half-brother Sesshomaru had always had him beat in terms of speed. Quite frequently it had only been the Tessaiga or sheer luck that had determined the outcomes of their squabbles. Only in his full demon form had he come close to that kind of speed, and he couldn't risk that happening again. By the time he fell asleep Inuyasha was ready to concede the point, and the next morning admitted -generally out loud and not to anyone specifically - that learning to become faster might be useful after all.

Ranma couldn't place who that attitude reminded him of...

It took nearly two weeks to reach Kaede's village. Two weeks of travel, training and defeating several demons. For the most part Ranma and Akane kept out of these fights, content to guard Shippo and Kagome and watch the professionals at work. They were both very impressed by the demon slayers' strength, abilities and team work. While the Nerima Wrecking Crew had occasionally fought on the same side, they'd fought as a collection of distrusting individuals, not a cohesive force. Ranma could see just much they could have achieved if he, Akane and the others, had been able to truly put aside their differences and work as one. He was determined to change that when they returned. If they returned.

They arrived in Kaede's village late in the afternoon, and after consulting with the old priestess, decided to attempt the transfer to the modern era the following morning.

* * *

><p>Nodoka Saotome was startled out of her reverie by the ringing telephone. She'd spent much of the last five years grieving over the loss of her son, so soon after getting him back in her life. No matter how much she'd tried, Nodoka simply couldn't let him go. Her grief had widened the gulf between her and Genma, and they'd divorced two years ago. Picking up the telephone, she answered, "Hello?"<p>

A woman's voice responded, "Mrs Nodoka Saotome?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Hello, My name is Midori Higarashi, my daughter Kagome has asked that you meet her at the Tendo home at 10 o'clock this morning. She has news for you. About your son."

The phone dropped out of Nodoka's suddenly slack grip.

* * *

><p>Kasumi opened the front door to find an almost hysterical Mrs Saotome on the step. "Is she here? Where is she?"<p>

Calmly, as only Kasumi can, Kasumi asked, "Where's who Auntie-Saotome?"

"The girl, I got a phone call from a woman this morning. She said her daughter would be here at 10, that she had news of my son!"

"Oh, my! Well perhaps you should come in and wait then, there's still a little time yet. Why don't I make you a nice cup of tea and you can tell me all about this phone call." Kasumi ushered the distraught woman into the living area and set about making some tea. The room was closed off from the outside to keep the chill of the late autumn morning out. Soun was still seated at the table, finishing his morning table and he accepted a cup of tea as well. By the time Nodoka had calmed enough to relate the details of the phone call, there was a knock at the door. Kasumi rose to answer it and soon brought back a nervously smiling young girl of about fifteen. The girl introduced herself, "He.. Hello. My name is Kagome Higurashi, pleased to meet you," Kagome looked at each in turn as she named them, "Mr Tendo, Mrs Saotome, Kasumi."

Soun raised an eyebrow, "How do you know us?" he asked, or tried to. But he was drowned out by Nodoka's cry of "Do you truly have news of my son?" Soun really paid attention now, "You have news of Ranma? And what of my daughter? What of Akane? Where are they?"

Kagome stepped forward and around the table. Sliding open the door to the engawa, she quietly announced, "They're right out here."

Sure enough, standing by the koi pond, five years older but still their children, were Ranma and Akane. As Ranma nervously called out "Hi, Mom." Akane couldn't hold back and dashed to her father's arms, a joyously tearful "Daddy!" ringing out.

Nodoka wasn't moving. She could scarcely dare breathe for fear of shattering the dream before her. Ranma came inside and knelt before her. Nodoka started to reach up, but hesitated. "My son, is it truly you? Or is this another dream?" Ranma took her hand in his and told her, "I'm here, Mom. I'm really here."

With a joyful cry, Nodoka wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. "My son! Oh my son you have come back to me." Anything further couldn't be heard through the sobs.

Kagome watched the happy reunion, a tear in her eye herself, then made to quietly excuse herself and leave the family to their joy. But she was stopped by an embrace from Kasumi. "I don't know who you are, Miss Kagome, or how you found them, but you have done a wonderful thing for this family and we shall always owe you a great debt. Thank you. Thank you so very much." The normally serene young woman then pulled back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Won't you please stay and tell us all how you helped to bring them home?"

Kagome nodded, still smiling, "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

><p>Ranma and Akane walked hand in hand down the streets of Nerima, remembering their childhood. Little had changed, and yet little had remained the same. After Jusendo, Mousse and Shampoo had never returned to Japan, and without her charges there, Cologne had returned to China soon after. Ryoga was sometimes seen wandering through, but he vanished as soon as he realised where he was. He still visited Akari occasionally, but their relationship was strained. Kodachi Kuno never left the estate any more; much like the tragic Miss Haversham, she waited in her wedding dress for her beloved to return to her. The other Kuno was in prison on a charge of sexual assault against a young girl with red hair.<p>

The only person who'd really stayed in Nerima was...

"Look, Akane, Ucchan's is still open. We should stop in, and let her know we're back before she finds out from someone else."

Akane pulled her husband down for a searing kiss, then said, "Yes. We should." She may have married Ranma, but Ukyo still made her just littlest bit jealous.

Inside, Ukyo was facing away from the door, mixing up batter at a furious pace. Without looking up she asked them, "What can I get you, sugar?"

Ranma smirked. "Pork, beef and mushroom, thanks Uchhan."

Ukyo's head snapped up, "Ra...Ranchan?" Ranma grinned and tried to respond, but before he could Ukyo had dropped the bowl, vaulted the counter and glomped on to him like she was drowning and he was a life preserver.

Akane watched from the side, surprised that she wasn't as jealous as she'd feared she would be. There was almost none of the old urge to mallet her husband as there had been in times past. Nope, no urge at all...

"Excuse me, Miss Akane?" Akane turned away to see the restaurant's waitress, the former kunoichi Konatsu. "Is he back... for Ukyo? I mean... its just that we're getting married next month, but..."

Akane tried to reassure the cross-dresser. "Don't worry, Konatsu, Ranma and I are married ourselves. We'd be pleased to attend your wedding, if you'll have us."

Konatsu breathed a sigh of relief and Ukyo stepped back and looked hard at her former fiancee. "You're married?"

"Yup, nearly five years now!" Ranma announced proudly, waving his left hand and its gold band in front of her.

Scowling, Ukyo hit him in the chest. With each word. "And. You. Didn't. Invite. Me. To. Your. Wedding!" She turned to Akane and said "Congratulations, Akane!" with a smile, then went back to hitting Ranma and chasing him all over the restaurant. "Your best friend, your oldest friend, and you couldn't be bothered to phone me up and say 'Hey, Ukyo, we're getting married soon, wanna come watch?'"

"We were trapped five hundred years in the past, Ucchan!" Ranma vaulted over a table, customers and all.

"That's no excuse!"

Akane looked heavenwards and sighed, "Yup, same old Nerima. But it's good to be home."

End.


End file.
